Realtor shares top 10 space-saving secrets

The new kitchen in the Haysboro bungalow Shirley Evans and her daughter Stephanie extensively renovated to add light, openness and more practical use of space.

Photograph by: Gavin Young
, Calgary Herald

With 12 years experience in the real estate industry and having bought, renovated and re-sold 54 homes, Shirley Evans knows how to take even the smallest of houses and turn it into a functional home.

Evans' latest endeavour — a 1950s Calgary bungalow in Haysboro. Typical of most in Calgary, it had small rooms, lots of walls and two or three bedrooms all crammed into about 1,050 square feet. However, after some calculated and crafty renovations, Evans has transform the tired bungalow into a stylish and contemporary home.

Here are her top 10 tips for creating a contemporary space out of a smaller, older home:

1. Use open-concept floor plans

Open-concept living is a modern must-have for many buyers. Inside the Haysboro house, Evans took out the ceiling and insulation and re-framed the inside. Now, the home boasts 16-foot ceilings.

"In these bungalows, it's easy to use the attic space," she says. "Opening things up makes it feel like there's more space, makes it more modern and it feels like you're in a brand new house."

2. Gain extra space with cantilevers

Cantilevers are a fairly common design element often used for balconies and porches. Homeowners can gain square footage by taking advantage of the space under the overhang, Evans says.

In the Haysboro house, she used a cantilever by the back door to make room for a closet. In another renovation, Evans took advantage of overhang space to enlarge an ensuite bathroom.

"It's not a ton of space, but it gives you about a foot or 14 inches of elbow room and visual space so that it feels bigger," she says.

3. Maximize storage with custom cabinetry

To get the most space out of a kitchen, Evans suggests using custom cabinetry, replacing the standard 12-inch upper cabinets with deeper 14-inch ones that run to the ceiling.

"This really maxes out the use of space both functionally as well as visually," she says.

Also, the old lazy susan shelves — which were too bulky to be functional — were replaced with space-saving kidney-shaped pull-out shelves. And since there was no pantry space, Evans shaved off 20 inches from the hall closet to create a custom space for additional storage.

4. Eliminate a tiny bedroom

If homeowners don't need the small third bedroom, Evans suggests knocking out the walls and using the space for a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom for the master bedroom.

"For today's lifestyle, if there are two bigger bedrooms or an extra one in the basement, in a lot of cases people are quite fine with that," she says, adding it's great for people who don't want to live in a condo, want a yard, but don't want a massive house.

5. Add a front porch

Adding a front porch not only adds charm and curb appeal, it also adds more space.

Even if it's not a fully enclosed porch, Evans says pushing out the front door under the eaves creates more entry space "so you're not falling right into the house."

6. Replace older fireplaces

According to Evans, gone are the days of hulking fireplaces that take up tons of living room space. Instead, she suggests replacing the old one with a gas fireplace that's built into the wall, which saves a lot of space.

"If the fireplace is flush with the wall and the box housing all the mechanicals is sitting outside of the house, it gives a lot of visual space," she says, noting it also provides furniture layout options.

7. Reconfigure furnaces and hot water tanks

Today's homes require high-efficiency furnaces and hot water tanks. By replacing the old stuff, homeowners can eliminate the cinder block chimney that goes through the house, opening up three square feet of space on all levels.

By doing this in the Haysboro house, Evans was able to fit a full-sized vanity in the bathroom instead of just a pedestal sink.

8. Purchase counter-depth fridge

"You can have a beautifully redone kitchen, but the space will be thrown off by a fridge jutting out into it," Evans says about the regular 33-inch appliance, suggesting people opt for the 27-inch version. "This way, you gain an extra three inches and it doesn't look so awkward.

She also suggests not just a microwave hood fan, but a microwave/convection oven and hood fan combination, giving the kitchen a double oven without taking up extra space.

9. Replace basement window wells

To avoid the typical oppressive below-grade basement window wells, Evans often replaces the corrugated metal liners with natural wood and uses a step-out method to make the wells appear larger.

"Visually, you feel like you have a lot more room as opposed to the other ones that are ugly and closed in," she says. "You get a much wider window well, but you also have a built-in step system in case of a fire.

10. Build a custom laundry room

For Evans, there's nothing worse than having a mop and broom in one closet, the vacuum cleaner in another and cleaning products somewhere else in the house. Her advice: A custom laundry room for all of the cleaning equipment and products, as well as the washer and dryer.

"Homeowners want that surface to fold laundry, stack stuff and have it tucked out of sight," she says, noting electrical panels can also be incorporated.

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